Paint brushes and the like



Feb. 12, 1963 D. G. DAWQ PAINT BRUSHES AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 29, 1959 I I III I I I III I l I I I III I hire This invention relates to improvements in paint brushes and the like (hereinafter referred to as a paint brush) and it refers particularly to improvements in the means for fastening the bristles of a paint brush to the handle.

in the manufacture of paint brushes it is usual for the bristles to have their inner ends held in what is commonly termed a knot, and for the bristles to be mounted in a sheet metal ferrule which is fastened to a wooden handle by nails, pins or equivalent fastenings. The inner ends of the bristles, in many cases, are set in rubber and the ferrule is fastened to the knot or rubber-mounted inner ends of the bristles by a row of small nails, pins or the like through the outer end portion of the ferrule. That is to say, there are generally two rows of nails or like fastenings-one at the inner or rear end of the ferrule to fasten it to the handle and a second at the outer or front end of the ferrule to secure the bristles in the ferrule.

An important object of this invention is to provide an improved construction of paint brush which will lead to economy of production and enable paint brushes to be made more rapidly than hitherto by mass production methods. A further object of the invention is to provide a construction of paint brush which may be readily assembled by pressing together the several parts, using a suitable adhesive to bond together the inner ends of the bristles and to bond the bristles and ferrule to the handle.

According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a paint brush having a handle, a ferrule secured to the handle, and a knot of bristles in the outer or front end of the ferrule, said knot being retained in said ferrule by a water-proof adhesive-as an epoxy or polyester resinand the ferrule being secured to the handle by interlocking engagement of the parts.

'In another aspect there is provided a paint brush having a handle provided at its front end with a bridge member extending transversely of the axial centre-line of the handle, a ferrule fitting over the bridge member and a knot of bristles in the outer or front end of the ferrule, said knot being retained in position in the ferrule by a waterproof adhesive and the ferrule being secured to the handle by interlocking engagement of the parts.

The bridge member is conveniently made as a separate part adapted to be fastened to the handle by interlocking engagement of parts of the one with portions of the other-'as by spigots or ribs on one part engaging with slots or recesses in the other part-and it is preferably so constructed that when the ferrule is fitted to the handle the adhesive applied to the inner end of the knot of bristles will interlock with the bridge member to hold the parts in assembled relationship.

There may be provided, as a separate part, a cowl fitting about the ferruleto provide for an attractive or ornamental appearanceor there may be provided a cowl formed integrally with the handle.

The invention also provides a paint brush having a handle, an interlocking member, a knot of bristles, a waterproof adhesive bonding the inner or rear ends of the bristles to the interlocking member, a female member on either the handle or the interlocking member, and a male member on the other of those parts, the male member being engaged with the female member in interlocking relationship.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily put into practical effect one practical embodiatnt 3,75,989 Patented Feb. 12, 1953 meat of the invention, and a modification thereof, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a paint brush;

FIG. 2 shows the bristle end of the paint brush handle;

FIG. 3 illustrates the construction of the bridge;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section through a portion of the paint brush, the section being taken on the line and in the direction of the arrows 4-4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 shows a transverse section through the bristle end of the paint brush, the section being taken on the plane indicated by the line and in the direction shown by the arrows 5-5 of FIG. 4.

Reference is made initially to the construction illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5. The paint brush made according to this invention and illustrated in these figures of the drawings has four parts-the handle, a bridge member, a ferrule and a cowl-in addition to the bristles 7 and the adhesive securing the bristles in the ferrule and the ferrule and cowl to the handle. For the purposes of this specification the adhesive is considered as an integer of the combination.

The handle 8 of the brush is made of nylon or other suitable plastic material-conveniently made by injection moulding operations-and it is of hollow construction. At the front or bristle end of the handle 8 is a socket portion 9 of substantially rectangular shape, with rounded corners, having a wall It), a peripheral flange 11 about that wall, a recess 12 in the flange 1i outwardly of the wall It lugs 13 extending transversely of the wall 10 at the ends and at intermediate locations in the length of the wall, and longitudinal slots 14 in the opposite sides of the wall between the lugs 13.

Fitted into the socket portion 9 is a bridge 15 having legs 16 formed with spigots 17 for engagement in the slots 14, and holes 18 in the top plate of the bridge. The outer surface of the bridge top plate is roughened-as by the formation of criss-cross linesand the length of the bridge 15 is substantially the same as the length of the wall Iii, the legs 16 being of such length and of such transverse spacing that the spigots 17 will engage in the slots 14 with the top plate of the bridge extending over the lugs 13 close to the outer ends thereof.

The bridge 15 is preferably made as a die-casting of a standard zinc alloy. 3

The ferrule 19 is of substantially rectangular shape with rounded corners, having an inturned ledge or flange 20 at its front edge, and it is conveniently made as a die casting. The ferrule is of such internal length and-width as to fit tightly about the wall 10 of the handle, and it is of such length that when it is fitted tightly onto the socket portion 9 of the handle 8 with its rear edge accommodated in the recess 12 the inturned ledge or flange 20 is a short distanceas about %"forwardly of the outer surface of the bridge 15.

The cowl 21 is substantially the same shape as the forrule 19, having an inturned ledge 22 at its front edge, and it is made to be a tight fit on the ferrule 19. This cowl 21 is provided for decorative purposes and is preferably made of the same material as the handle 8-as nylon.

In the assembly of the parts for the manufacture of a paint brush the bridge 15 is fitted to the socket portion 9 by pressing the legs 16 between the sides of the wall 19 so as to effect engagement of the spigots 17 in the slots 1d. Those spigots 17 are adapted for ready engagement in the slots 14 but they are not easily disengaged therefrom. The ferrule 19 is pressed into the cowl 21 and then the bristles 7 are loaded into the ferrule 19 by known means. conventionally, the bristles are fitted into the ferrule 19 from the rear end, passing through the ferrule until the front ends of the bristles engage with a stop located a suitable distance forwardly of the front edge of the ferrule, when the rear ends of the bristles 7 are a short distance-as about Az"in from the front edge of the ferrule 19.

When the ferrule 19 is fitted with the bristles 7 an adhesive-indicated at 23is applied to the inside of the ferrule 19 so as to cover the inner or rear ends of the bristles and securely bond them in position. A suitable adhesive is an epoxy or polyester resin. When that adhesive hasset a further quantity of the adhesive is added to the surface of the set adhesive, and a small quantity of a suitable adhesive is applied to the rear edge of the cowl 21. Then, the ferrule 19 and cowl 21 are pushed over the wall 10 and bridge until the rear edges of the ferrule 19 and cowl 21 engage in the recess 12. In doing that the second layer of adhesive over the inner ends of the bristles 7 is pressed firmly onto the bridge 15 so that a part of the adhesive is-squeezed through the holes 18 in the bridge to effect a locking engagement between the bridge 15 and the adhesive-bonded bristles 7. Thus, the ferrule 19 and its cowl 21, together with the bristles 7, are secured to the handle 8.

It is to be noted that both the handle 8 and cowl 21 are conveniently made of plastic-as nylon-by mass production methods, and both the bridge 15 and the ferrule 19 are conveniently made by die-casting-as in a standard die-cast zinc alloys0 as to provide for rapidity and economy of production. The interlocking of the several partsis effected by the combination of a mechanical locking of the bridge 15 to the handle 8 and the adhesive bonding of the bristles 7 to the ferrule 19 and to the bridge 15. The bridge ,15 provides a firm base for the bristles 7and tends to prevent bowing of the bristles at the inner end thereof.

Itwillbe realised that as the cowl is provided for decorative purposes it may be omitted if desired.

In.certain.cases, as with relatively small brushesfor example 1" and 2" brushes, the ferrule 19- may be made of nylon .orother suitable plastic material instead of being made as a die-casting and in that event it will not be necessary to provide the cowl 21.

It will be appreciated that there may be made other modifications in details of design or of construction without departing from the ambit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A paint brush comprising in combination a handle terminating in an outwardly disposed annularly-s'naped wall defining a socket; a flange extending exteriorly and laterally of said handle adjacent the socket wall; said socket wall having slots spaced therealong; a bridge member including a strip portion provided with openings and having leg members projecting therefrom; said leg members telescoping the socket and having means to engage thfiSlQtS Of said socket wall and thereby secure the bridge member to the handle; bristles-adhesively bound together and extending away from the handle; a ferrule adhesively bound to the. bristles'and enclosing the bridge member; a; layer of an adhesive extending along the outwardly disposed side of said strip portion and upwardly through the openings in said strip portion to aid in securing the bristles to said bridge member; and means to fix an end of the ferrule to said handle flange; whereby in assembling the ferrule and bristles with respect to the handle and bridging member as defined, adhesive from said layer is forced through the openings of said strip portion to effect a locking engagement between the bridge member and bristles.

2. A paint brush comprising in combination a handle terminating in an outwardly disposed angularly-shaped wall defining a socket; said socket wall having engaging means spaced therealong; a bridge member including a strip portion provided with openings and having leg members projecting therefrom; said leg members telescoping the socket and having means to lock with said engaging means of the socket wall and thereby secure the bridge member to the handle; bristles adhesively bound together and extending away from the handle; a ferrule adhesively bound to the bristles and enclosing the bridge member; a layer of an adhesive extending along the outwardly disposed side of said strip portion and upwardly through the openings in said strip portion to aid in securing the bristles to said bridge member; and means to fix an end of the ferrule to said socket; whereby in assembling the ferrule and bristles with respect to the handle and bridging member as defined; adhesive from said layer is forced through the openings of said strip portion to effect a locking engagement between the bridge member and bristles.

3. A paint brush comprising in combination a one piece handle terminating in an outwardly disposed socket having a laterally extending flange; said flange being provided with a peripheral recess extending around a wall of the socket; said wall having slots spaced therealong; a bridge member including a strip portion provided with openings and having leg members jointly projecting therefrom; said leg members telescoping the socket and having lug means to effect a snap engagement with the slots of said socket wall and thereby secure the bridge memher to the handle; bristles adhesively bound together and extending away from the handle; a ferrule adhesively bound to the bristles and enclosing the bridge member; a layer of an adhesive extending along the outwardly disposed side of said strip portion and upwardly through the openings in said-strip portion to aid in securing the bristles to said bridge member; and means to fix an inner end of the ferrule within the peripheral recess of said flange; whereby in assembling the ferrule and bristles with respect to the handle and bridging member as defined, adhesive from said layer is forced through the openings of said strip portion to effect a locking engagement between the bridge member and bristles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A PAINT BRUSH COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A HANDLE TERMINATING IN AN OUTWARDLY DISPOSED ANNULARLY-SHAPED WALL DEFINING A SOCKET; A FLANGE EXTENDING EXTERIORLY AND LATERALLY OF SAID HANDLE ADJACENT THE SOCKET WALL; SAID SOCKET WALL HAVING SLOTS SPACED THEREALONG; A BRIDGE MEMBER INCLUDING A STRIP PORTION PROVIDED WITH OPENINGS AND HAVING LEG MEMBERS PROJECTING THEREFROM; SAID LEG MEMBERS TELESCOPING THE SOCKET AND HAVING MEANS TO ENGAGE THE SLOTS OF SAID SOCKET WALL AND THEREBY SECURE THE BRIDGE MEMBER TO THE HANDLE; BRISTLES ADHESIVELY BOUND TOGETHER AND EXTENDING AWAY FROM THE HANDLE; A FERRULE ADHESIVELY BOUND TO THE BRISTLES AND ENCLOSING THE BRIDGE MEMBER; A LAYER OF AN ADHESIVE EXTENDING ALONG THE OUTWARDLY DISPOSED SIDE OF SAID STRIP PORTION AND UPWARDLY THROUGH THE OPENINGS IN SAID STRIP PORTION TO AID IN SECURING THE BRISTLES TO SAID BRIDGE MEMBER; AND MEANS TO FIX AN END OF THE FERRULE TO SAID HANDLE FLANGE; WHEREBY IN ASSEMBLING THE FERRULE AND BRISTLES WITH RESPECT TO THE HANDLE AND BRIDGING MEMBER AS DEFINED, ADHESIVE FROM SAID LAYER IS FORCED THROUGH THE OPENINGS OF SAID STRIP PORTION TO EFFECT A LOCKING ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE BRIDGE MEMBER AND BRISTLES. 